April 16, 2011

This video — shot by Meade and edited by me — begins with a little boy banging on a plastic bucket "drum." A man with a guitar is performing — amplified — on the stage, but we can barely hear him over the crowd noise. There is incessant ringing of cowbells. Then, we can hear that a young woman is speaking from the stage to the Tea Party crowd as the protesters do what they can to drown her out. She finishes — "God bless America" — and the tea partiers cheer but the protesters overwhelm them with boos. The emcee comes to the mike and we hear that the speaker was only 14 years old.

ADDED: One of the chants during her speech is "Go home! Go home! Go home!"

I am glad to live in Texas. Not only do our schools outperform those of Wisconsin at a fraction of the cost, but we have less tolerance for verbal abuse of girls. Oh, it was 76 degrees and sunny here in Galveston, today.

"Do any of these dopes know how awful they look to everyone but themselves?"

I donno. Several commenters here are trying to change the subject, but I don't think they'll admit the awful behavior. Maybe they really don't think that it is repulsive. Maybe they're all, "You go girl!" to the obnoxious sorts.

Does anyone really believe any more that the left is for free speech? That idea is laughable. Sure there are some on the left who stand up for it (hi Anne). But does anyone of any authority in the Democrat Party ever speak out against this kind of behavior?

Meade and Ann. I have so much respect for you, as you two are able to keep your cool around these douches. I am pretty mild, but when someone really crosses the line, I can lose my temper. I could not be amoungst these people and maintain my composer.

I generally think that any youngster who is interacting in an adult sphere should be treated like an adult. I've no problem with that. So they boo'ed a teen, so what. She's a teenager, not a child. I think it's more important that they boo'ed at "God Bless America."

But you see, Shiloh, that you made some remark about her parents teaching her to hate liberals. I think that liberals are teaching her to hate liberals. And saying that, well, it was her fault anyway for getting up there and speaking, is just making an excuse for no reason. What does it matter? The boo'ers boo, and anyone can make their own judgment on their behavior.

"Do any of these dopes know how awful they look to everyone but themselves?"

Again, as she was underage, her parents had to agree for her to appear.

Interesting dichotomy ie palin sayin' to the press to lay off her children as they were/are off limits and at the same time her oldest daughter, who had a kid out of wedlock, makes a lot of $$$ preaching abstinence and appearing on Dancin' w/the Stars and mama grizzly has her own reality show at her home in Alaska, complaining about her family's privacy at the same time.

And of course Greta going up to Alaska to fawn all over the palin clan.

I'm pretty sure that the either or you're suggesting is unsupportable, Shiloh.

Either children are kept entirely out of public life OR it's acceptable for loving and tolerant liberals to abuse them.

Either women wear body concealing clothing OR it's acceptable for moral and upstanding men to rape them.

How is one of those statements any different from the other.

Children are people and have a *right* that is far more real than any imagined right for government workers to "collectively" demand control over their employer's budget decisions, to exist. In public.

Making their sequestering a condition of treating them with normal decency is entirely hostile and self-serving.

All abusers blame the abused. Always. There will be some way that it is someone elses fault that an abuser does what they do. There is never responsibility taken for what is freely chosen.

It's a sad thing, Sarah Palin forcing people to pick on her kids and then having the gall to complain about what she *forced* them to do.

And complaining about what this girl's parents forced the counter-protesters to do, against their will, is just as unjust.

Unjust!

Stop the injustice, and keep those young people out of public view and out of public participation.

I don't think I'm willing to sigh on to that, but I do understand the basis of the argument.

Denying conservatives freedom of speech is quite common for lefties. If they think this helps their cause with independents, they are sadly mistaken.

What is amazing is that there appear to be virtually no lefties condemning this behavior. I guess it is a combination of some thinking it is OK to behave this way and the rest being afraid to speak up lest they be criticized for supporting freedom of speech for conservatives.

It is great to get this video out where it can get picked up by Drudge, InstaPundit, Fox, and the (real) WSJ.

I understand that you really do not want to see that you just suggested several ways why it was someone elses fault that people were excessively rude to a 14 year old, and you're the one who brought up Palin's kids.

Now either she's participating in the adult sphere and doesn't get special treatment, in which case, why the excuses? Or people really ought to take responsibility for their own behavior instead of blaming it on others. Or both.

So why don't you trot out another excuse for why it's okay after all to pick on someone's kids.

"I'm ok with this; the girl new what she was signing up for and the protesters were protesting her MESSAGE not, necessarily, her."

I doubt she knew what she was getting into, but I'm sure she got a whole lot of positive feed-back and the people up front were certainly supporters. I'm not worried about *her* at all. But none of that changes the nature of the protesters and their anti-social behavior (or the excuses given for it).

And I don't think it's accurate to say that the people were protesting her message. Do you think they heard or cared what she said? Really? I doubt they cared what she said any more than they cared how old she was.

You and your bought and paid for buddies (you know of whom I speak) can't control your keyboard. This 14 year old was put out there to identify the people who would raise their heads. That would be you. I hope you feel fine tonight. I hope your daughter feels fine in twenty years. She probably won't survive the abortion, however, so you can rest easy.

And yes, AA is a tiresome hypocrite as she "tries" to straddle the fence and gets shit on from both sides. But her dedicated/loyal conservative flock will defend her ad nauseam, so she can remain above the fray at her own blog.

Wow, the leftys here just don't have their heart into this madison thing anymore. Who can blame them? They've had their ass handed to them for 4 months straight now. Now they have to defend booing a 14year old girl. Sucks to be you.

She'll be fine as her parents probably already have her trained to hate/despise liberals.

Because liberals can be as shockingly profane, vulgar, aggressive, and rude as they like, but the only reason someone might be inclined to dislike them is if they were brainwashed.

I am in some kind of mood tonight, because I just got done watching the lefties in Portland with their F this and F that, "God sh** on America" bile. It's like they're children, constantly testing to see how far they can push Mommy and Daddy before Daddy finally kicks their ass.

First they put our children in debt, then they take away school choice (in the one place they allowed it in the first place), now they hiss and boo a 14-year-old girl. Trig Trutherism was just the tip of the iceberg.Meanwhile MSM runs interference as they have since the happy peasants of Walter Duranty's imagination filled their tables with the bounty of unrestrained liberalism. Thank you to Meade, Breitbart, Reynolds, Althouse, Malkin, O'Keefe, Maloney, and anyone else I might have missed for finally showing us the truth about these people.

Damikesc, look at your hands...did you really type that? You can't mean it. If you really did, you are saying that their really are no rules of engagement for public discourse. Of course, we all know the left believes this.

Tell us, what would you be willing to say to this female child? Would you assume they were their of their own volition? Or dragged their by a parent questing to provide the experience?

The attempt to hijack the discussion here by shiloh et al is just another symptom of the Left's prediliction to crush freedom of speech. They are on record here saying that they are indeed just trying to train wreck the conversation. These lefty orcs (small minded trolls) do not want anyone to talk about left wing rudeness, intimidation, corruption, and general facist behavior. Blogger really needs an ignore function so we adults can talk without rude, malicious interruption.

Showing a kid mindlessly beating a drum (the "parents" were probably across the street getting a beer) and cutting to an "adult" ringing a cowbell in equally mindless fashion is a devastating commentary on the fine, upstanding unionistas.

And, yes, they haven't even guts enough to fight like a girl.

PS shiloh trolls with inane non sequiturs, calls anyone who rebuts him one of his admirers (he should live!), and then wants them to go to his blog.

The benefit of free speech is the exposure of the speaker's ideas and plans that let's folks plan for a coming events. So allowing speech is a tactic also. The sheer cowardice of the public employee Union members has attempted to shut down the benefits we may have gotten here. They are proudly kidnapping freedom and offering it back for a ransom. That teaches us that money is ALL they are about all of the time.

This fight over Palin is all about race. That's why the left keeps calling the Tea Party racists.

When the Democrats praised McCain for being "moderate" and "reasonable," they meant that he refused to go after Obama for being a race hustler and associating with terrorists.

Obama, the left is arguing, is above criticism because he is black. Criticizing Obama is racism.

Palin represents the interests of middle and lower class whites. These people are supposed by the left to be so racist and reprehensible that they cannot be represented by any "respectable" politician. Middle and lower class whites are supposed to just shut up and accept their status as political untouchables.

So, it's all about race.

The reason that Palin is "stupid" is because she represents the interests of the untouchables.

I've got to go play with a band today, so I'll wrap up my contribution.

The obsession on internet boards with IQ and intelligence is not what politics are about.

Politics are about competing self-interests.

Obama represents the interests of blacks, single women and gay, along with the various welfare cheats and union thugs. They vote for him because he represents their self-interest, not because he's smart.

Palin represents the interests of middle and lower class whites, married women, and those blacks and gays who stray off the reservation. The country club elite of the Republican Party will vote for her while it holds its nose.

Politics is not about IQ and intelligence. I'll repeat this again. It's about the competing self-interests of different constituencies.

DT2012 , if you are going to put your child up there to speak at a political rally, it does not make your child offf limits. She/he is a political speaker and is fair game. I loathe it when the Left used kids as a prop and loathe it when the Right does as well.

Fair point to anyone suggesting a 14 year old shouldn't speak at a political rally.

But look at the language from the left on here: "politics is a contact sport," etc. The "intellectual" left isn't about the rightness of its ideas; it's about its ability to mobilize the mob to shut down the opposition. He who shouts the loudest and threatens the most wins.

shiloh proves that leftist are as dumb and mean spirited as the video shows. BTW, anyone with intelligence would know that a 14 year old does what she wants to do. The 7 or 8 year olds do what their mommy wants them to do or they are punished. Will shiloh's mom feed him today?

Can't watch the video of the Madison skidbags shouting down a child. I've actually been semi-succesful in allowing humanity to restore my faith in it over the last couple days (by avoiding news stories like this). Not gonna ruin my Sunday over a bunch of overstuffed hysterics getting their hate on.

Maybe it's a good thing all these selfish, greedy, brown-shirt, corrupt, unionist, collectivist, socialist, taker, progressive, leftwing, fascist democrats reveal their behavior and actions for the world to see.

It's disgusting to watch and it makes the pit of my stomach sick, but in the end leftists will LOSE.

I was there, and I witnessed adult men, so-called protestors, screaming vile obscenities, and giving the finger to all of the female speakers, including that courageous young woman.

If there is a silent majority of moderates on the left, they need to take a hard look at the kinds of people to whom they have out-sourced their protesting, and why there is such a tolerance of the misogynistic behavior of radical progressives, anarchists and socialists by those in the mainstream left.

The 'New' Democrats are really something now, The Pigford Scam, The Brazilian Oil Scam, spending our country into insolvency for the Piven Plan and Marxism. Harry Truman fought corruption and the 'New' Democrats have joined it. Obama Democrats have morphed into gangsters.

The issue isn't the girl. The issue is that adults chose to treat her that way, simply because they disagree with what she has to say. It's about them and their entitlement rage. We don't need to worry about the girl, but these large children need to be taken out behind the wood shed. Then they need to be told that they are old enough now to help around the house with chores and will be expected to not embarrass the family in front of company.

Oh please. They came to Madison to GET booed, so they could play the poor us victim card. Nothing says passive-aggressive niceness quite like a billionaire sponsored rally to rub noses of union supporters and tell them to go to hell.

It sounded a little quieter where Althouse was. Where I was, it was a little louder Surprised that video I took with my phone has 24,000 hits already.

AFP/Breitbart/Palin came to Madison to say fuck you, we won. Protesters said fuck you back. That was pretty much the story of the day. But they didn't say why they picked Madison

Yeah, cause Madison is liberal turf, baby! Don't you dare exercise your First Amendment rights in this town unless you toe the progressive line. It's simply unacceptable to voice a non-conforming opinion in this bastion of thoughtfulness, tolerance and nuance. If you're not with us, you're against us!

The attempt to hijack the discussion here by shiloh et al is just another symptom of the Left's prediliction to crush freedom of speech. Blogger really needs an ignore function so we adults can talk without rude, malicious interruption.

As AA's self-righteous lemmings rail against shouting down free speech at the same time wanting to rid this blog of all liberal free speech.

The unions would have been better off to let her speak uninterrupted and then shout a consolidated "we don't agree with you". It would have been a chilling display of their numbers, showed respect to an opposing point of view and eliminate video fodder for those who don't agree with them. But the goons instead devolved to their base impulse, which is why they are getting played.

Did the counter protesters show her the same discourteous behavior that they showed all the other speakers? Her gender and age may not be the salient points here. Not being in Madison, it seems the news reported small numbers of protesters supporting Walker, and countering the vast numbers supporting the protests, and occupation of the capitol building. Why can't the left let the conservatives protest one day, and they can protest another? Because the left isn't interested in allowing speech from a different point of view. They simply are not very nice people, which is a pretty mild description since they have no morals, no integrity and no honor.

You know, I just discovered that I'm actually a bit of an optimist. I kind of keep expecting one or another of the various Lefties who post here to put up an actual argument or something, instead of merely spewing invective and bile. Hasn't happened yet, but I guess I'll keep hoping.

It does make me wonder, though, if these folks are as nasty and unlikeable in person as they are online. At this point I'm guessing yes.

They could disagree without being all that disagreeable and they would get engaged that way. Evidently the actual case means more to them than that.

And I'm old enough to remember honorable politicians and citizens on the Left who were courteous and adult and who didn't mind discussing serious differences of opinion. I suppose the aftermath of Watergate killed all that. I am trying to think of anyone as liberal as, say, Hubert Humphrey who is also as decent a human being. No one comes to mind. They're all more like Che Guevara. I'm reasonably sure, from reading various rants here, that many on the Left, given the power, would act just as he did. Sigh.

Palin represents the interests of middle and lower class whites. These people are supposed by the left to be so racist and reprehensible that they cannot be represented by any "respectable" politician. Middle and lower class whites are supposed to just shut up and accept their status as political untouchables.

ShoutingT, I get what you're saying about "untouchables", but you really need to back the hell off on your "Palin represents the interests of whites. . ." bullshit. Ms. Palin represents the interests of Americans. I've never seen her give any indication whatsoever that she cares one bit what color they are.

Funny thing, though. For the last two weeks, one of my Facebook friends who is a public school teacher has been posting pics from his Spring Break at a resort in Florida. Looks pretty sweet. All these pictures of him lounging at poolside, dining out, parasailing... all while the rest of us who pay his salary were at work in the cold.

Now, he's back, and posting all the pro-union, "don't let the state cut our benefits" crap he can find.

Ah shiloh. You are truly a crafty little liberal. An expert at making what seems like nuetral statements, which, when thought about, reveal themselves for what they are. The words of a liberal moron. Tell me, would you consider a 14 year old an "adult" if the situation were reversed and a bunch of conservatives were trying to shut down her right to free speech? Would you claim her parents had "trained her well", which you used to imply the girl had no opinion of her own. Face it shiloh, you are like most of your freeloader tribe....despicable.

shiloh:As AA's self-righteous lemmings rail against shouting down free speech at the same time wanting to rid this blog of all liberal free speech.

Wrong again punk. a single post ignore function would allow us to ignore your shouting us down. You are perpitrating shouting down by hi-jacking threads. Get it?... I didn't think so. To much logic for you I know.

Start bringing electronic billboards (hardwired to prevent hacking) to broadcast the speeches. Record it at the microphone and send it via YouTube in realtime before these brownshirts can react. Use Twitter, Facebook and other social media. Hell, print the speeches in advance and hand out phamplets.

While I agree with most of the indignance expressed above, I must say I personally am NOT interested in speeches by 14-year-olds and if I'd been at that rally, I'd definitely have gone for a beer break.

Not only is that age-group notorious for sanctimonious pretension, but it's difficult for me to imagine that she'd have had anything of real value to say.

I've sat around the table with children as young as 8 who could actually be spoken with almost as equals but it would be a completely different story to have one of them up on a pedestal.

Have you never seen e.g. the Greenpeace "us kids are gonna get even" video? There are countless more and the political "side" they may be representing is beside the point.

The sanctimony of that age is bad enough, and then given a venue to preachify, with the fawning adoration of adults is something I personally prefer not to witness.

While I agree with most of the indignance expressed above, I must say I personally am NOT interested in speeches by 14-year-olds and if I'd been at that rally, I'd definitely have gone for a beer break.

Not only is that age-group notorious for sanctimonious pretension, but it's difficult for me to imagine that she'd have had anything of real value to say - what little I could make out were a few conservative catchwords (which I agree with, but substance is also important).

I've sat around the table with children as young as 8 who could actually be spoken with almost as equals but it would be a completely different story to have one of them up on a pedestal.

Have you never seen e.g. the Greenpeace "us kids are gonna get even" video? There are countless more and the political "side" they may be representing is beside the point.

The sanctimony of that age is bad enough, and then given a venue to preachify, with the fawning adoration of adults is something I personally prefer not to witness.

I find it interesting that so many who posted think that just because someone was:

1. 14 years old, and2. a girl

such a someone should be exempt from public scorn, as though such a someone is somehow an innocent angel by virtue of age and gender.

I prefer to think of the 14 year old girl as too young to really understand the underlying forces at play in Wisconsin, and as someone who is being used to manipulate sympathy for the "cause" BECAUSE she is a 14 year old girl.

So many of you here seem to have forgotten how you not only gave your bad housekeeping seal of approval but openly cheered and blogged in support when your very ranks disrupted the many town hall meetings convened when attempting to discuss the health care issue.

Hold on there. What the TEA Partiers wanted in those town hall meetings was a chance to ask questions of their Representatives and Senators. The incivility started when the elected officials either refused to take their questions or refused to answer their questions.

If every time a person attempts to give voice to their opinion, they are shouted down, then yes, they have been denied freedom of speech. A vote to close debate is taken after everybody gets a chance to speak.

@Milwaukee, who stated: "The incivility started when the elected officials either refused to take their questions or refused to answer their questions."

Typical attempted Republican historical rewrite. In more than too many of those town hall meetings, the elected officials were shouted down and booed before they could even explain what they were there for.

You are wrong that shouting down someone - although at times rude - denies one of one's free speech. To believe so is to deny the shouter - however rude - his or her free speech.

Shouting down only denies the target the opportunity to be more easily heard, but not the freedom of speech.

The real issue here is being lost by paying attention to liberal morons who deflect and sidetrack; it's that conservatives have been and continue to be civil, I.e., weak. It's clearly time to take the gloves off and treat these "takers" the way they treat us. It's the only thing they will ever understand - strength.